This was part of this week's This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio playlist commentary. I think it also needs to stand as its own post as well (minus the playlist itself and additional comments about how much I enjoyed the new Superman movie).
In a world gone guano-crazy, we draw what strength and comfort we can from the things that delight us. Delight takes many forms, and its balm doesn't lessen our need to work on making the world a little bit less guano-crazy. But it can help us cope. It can help us deal. It can help us be. It can help us in our ongoing quest to live to fight another day.
Last week, a work of pop culture brought me the necessary catharsis of delight: A prerelease cut of Justin Fielding's long-promised documentary The Power Pop Movie. This project has been in development for years; at various points in the film, I felt the ache of seeing on-screen appearances by so many people who are no longer with us. But I also saw a lot of people I know, in-person friends and online acquaintances, and a parade of artists whom I admire. These elements add resonance and personal connection,. For all that, the most important component of The Power Pop Movie is the story of its chosen subject: A misunderstood and underappreciated musical approach called--you guessed it!--power pop.
That story is told here with elegance and grace. Fielding uses his interviews (with artists and enthusiasts) and various music clips to masterfully chronicle power pop's complicated and minutia-laden history. Miracle of miracles, Fielding somehow manages to tell that sprawling story in a concise and effective manner. The result is life-affirming, and I was on the verge of tears at several points during the film's narrative.
Several years back, I made a pretty decent stab at writing a definitive history of power pop. I feel no shame in conceding that my attempt is now, at best, a runner-up in the standings of all-time top chronicles of pop with power, sharing space alongside my friends John Borack, Jordan Oakes, Ken Sharp, and others. With The Power Pop Movie, Justin Fielding has accomplished the single most authoritative history of power pop in any medium. I look forward to watching it again. And I hope the general public gets its chance to see it soon. It's a stunning work, and a sublime labor of love. Recommended if you like delight.
We absorb delight when and where we can. Music. Art. Film. Literature. Theater. Comic books. Sports. Travel. Time spent with friends and family, time spent alone with a good cup of coffee. We have a crazy world out there awaiting our ability to change it for the better.
With delight at our side.
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My new book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1) is now available, and you can order an autographed copy here. You can still get my previous book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones from publisher Rare Bird Books, OR an autographed copy here. If you like the books, please consider leaving a rating and/or review at the usual online resources.
This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl airs Sunday nights from 9 to Midnight Eastern, on the air in Syracuse at SPARK! WSPJ 103.3 and 93.7 FM, streaming at SPARK stream and on the Radio Garden app as WESTCOTT RADIO. You can read about our history here.
